


know that it's probably magic

by thessalonike (starblessed)



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: Abandonment, Angst and Humor, Gen, Ghosts, Grief/Mourning, Healing, Julie Molina Has Abandonment Issues, Magic, Mood Whiplash, Sometimes You Soulbond With A Ghost Band To Cope, Soul Bond, bonus points to anyone who guesses what song the title's from
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:29:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29788536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starblessed/pseuds/thessalonike
Summary: The boys are always there, grown into the cracks in her heart like weeds; before Julie even notices, they're rooted too firmly to ever part from. She can always feel them with her. Their absence is visceral, something she isn’t so much aware of as a thing she realizes in unexpected moments. It’s grown over a period of weeks, over playing together time and time again, learning their quirks and traits. The more alive the boys become to her, the… more tangible they feel.She never feels alone anymore.And she never really thinks about why... until something Flynn says pulls her world to a screeching halt.“Sometimes I wonder if those boys are haunting your house, or if they’re haunting you.”( A study in grief, loneliness, and the nature of haunting. )
Relationships: Alex Mercer & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie Peters, Flynn & Julie Molina, Julie Molina & Julie Molina's Mother
Comments: 10
Kudos: 75





	know that it's probably magic

**Author's Note:**

> the new wandavision episode's got me messed up, man. that one line - "i can't feel you any more" - and the utter grief in her voice, the desolation of someone always being there, such a presence without you even realizing it, and suddenly they're just gone - and the space they left behind is so empty you wonder if they were ever there at all? if they mattered as much to you as you wanted to believe, because otherwise, there's no way this pain should be bearable? there's no way you should still be able to breathe without them?
> 
> as usual, julie and the phantoms is cheaper than therapy. enjoy!

It takes a while for the boys to figure out all the weirdness that comes with being a ghost — and for Julie, on her end, to sort out living with a haunted band.

If any one of them had a clue how things worked, it’d all be so much easier. The sad truth is, none of them do. Alex’s skater friend Willie is the closest they’ve come to an actual expert, having been haunting the streets of LA a few decades longer than the guys... but there are things even the expert can’t tell them, things they have to work out through experience. “Willie says every ghost is different,” Alex shares with the group one day, while Julie listens in, fascinated. “And we’re just kind of... weird ghosts, generally. He’s never heard of ghosts being seen by a lifer before.”

“A lifer,” Julie echoes, jabbing a finger towards her own chest. “I’m guessing means me?”

“Not just you,” replies Alex. “All living people.”

A pout must flash across Julie’s face without her permission. Reggie immediately leans forward, shooting her enthusiastic finger guns. “But  _ you’re  _ the coolest, most talented lifer around!”

“Yeah, definitely our favorite,” Luke chimes in from his seat on the floor. “And we’ve got so many choices. You’re beating out some stiff competition there.”

Julie swings her sock-clad foot at him, passing straight through his shoulder. His eyes flash with mischief; if he could grab her ankle and pull her off the couch, he definitely would. Instead, he has to settle for grinning at her, and Julie can’t even blame herself when she grins back.

“Favorite lifer, then? I can live with that.” For some reason, the idea fills her with warmth, like being wrapped in a cozy blanket.

The boys grin in a way that makes clear they don’t mind at all. However much time they spend people-watching on the pier, or casually haunting her father and brother, Julie always holds a special place in their hearts... not just because she’s the only one who can see them. This has been the fact from Day One; Julie's their Person.

It’s not something they’ve thought too hard about. Actually, Julie hasn’t even caught _herself_ wondering why. It was weird at first, sure, to be caught talking to air or watch her friends be walked through like they don’t even exist... but something about being able to see them felt so natural that she stopped questioning it quickly. In that same vein, being the only one who could see them... felt expected, somehow. Not right, not great, but — just the way it is. 

She never stops to ask herself _why..._ until one day, Flynn says something that pulls her world to a screeching halt.

“Sometimes I wonder if those boys are haunting your house, or if they’re haunting you.”

Julie sits upright, blinking at her. As the pen slips from her hands, it falls with a thud onto a half-finished doodle — a cartoon ghost version of the band, hovering between her practice calc equations. Julie was so focused on coloring the exact shade of ghost-Luke’s beanie that she didn’t even realize how far her brain wandered from studying.

“Come on,” she mutters, offering her friend a tiny smile. “It’s not that bad. They just... take up a lot of brain space sometimes.”

Literally. Whenever Julie finds herself with a quiet moment, her mind inevitably wanders back to the boys. Sometimes she finds her fingers itching for piano keys, or catches herself absently humming one of their songs... but it’s more than that, really. She’ll think of a sarcastic comment, and turn to Alex to murmur it, only to realize he isn’t there. Sometimes she’ll see a funny meme, and her first thought is how Reggie would love it. A melody will snag in her head, or she’ll scribble some lyrics down absentmindedly, and all of a sudden all she wants to do is put her head together with Luke’s so they can work it out. 

Their absence is visceral, a thing she isn’t so much aware of as a thing she realizes in unexpected moments. It’s grown over a period of weeks, from playing together, hanging with each other, learning their quirks and traits. The more alive the boys become to her, the… more tangible they feel.

She never feels alone anymore. 

That realization is enough to send Julie sitting straight up, calculus homework completely forgotten. Flynn springs up too, brows furrowed in concern. “You — you good?”

“What do you mean,” Julie demands, a note of urgency in her voice. “They’re haunting me?”

“I mean… kind of? It’s weird, when you think about it.” Flynn’s entire face twists sideways, like she’s just bitten into a sour fruit. “You’re the only one who can see them.”

“Yeah, we got that part.”

“And they live out in your Mom’s studio, but only because… they don’t really have anywhere else to go. Like, would you say the boys are haunting the studio?”

Julie weighs the question. “I would say we have a haunted studio.”

“ _ Haunted _ , yes.  _ Haunting _ , no. If they were living on your couch, you’d have a haunted living room. But like — they can go other places, do other things, right?”

“Of course,” Julie answers, shaking her head. This is ridiculous. Why is she giving so much thought to a question that probably doesn’t even _matter at all_ —

“So what about their instruments?” Flynn prods, and Julie’s head shoots up abruptly, curls bouncing everywhere.

“What about —“ She pauses, clearing her throat, taking advantage of the moment to gather her thoughts. As soon as they're in line, she jumps on them like an empty seat on a roller coaster. “Yeah! That makes way more sense! Their instruments were all here before we even moved in, just stacked up in the attic loft.” Trevor — Bobby — must have held onto them for ages before selling her Mom the house. Mom never bothered to part with them, because frankly, the studio loft made her nervous, and she hated going up there. Plus, if she was a Sunset Curve fan… maybe they had sentimental value.

Speculation is just speculation, though. All Julie knows for sure is that Flynn’s being ridiculous. “They’re attached to all that old stuff,” she sighs, waving a hand to dismiss the silly question. “Their instruments, and their CDs… come on, Flynn, my Mom even kept their couch! If anything’s tying them to life, it’s got to be the things they had before.”

Which makes a lot more sense. They can summon their instruments, after all, and don’t even need Julie’s voice to make themselves heard through music. When they play, people can hear them.

What does that mean, if not _ haunted instruments? _

Which settles it. It’s the instruments that are being haunted — not Julie’s house, and  _ not Julie. _

She settles back down, folding her arms in front of her calc work and leaning on them with a tiny, smug smile. Flynn still looks skeptical. Julie can only feel relieved.

“Luke said something weird once.”

“Once? Try, every day of his afterlife.”

“Okay, he’s Luke, we get it.” Julie snickers, before balancing her chin in her palm. “He said their instruments are attached to their souls. I guess that’s why it’s so easy for them.”

This information  _ should _ make the knit finally fade from between Flynn’s brows. If anything, though, she looks even more worried.

“What teenage boy thinks that, first thing? I told you, Julie, he’s weird air.”

“He’s an  _ artist, _ Flynn,” Julie insists, stretching her arms out. “They don’t think like normal people.”

“You’re sure he died eating a hot dog, not from hitting his head on his own guitar?”

Julie’s giggling too hard to answer that one, even though it’s kind of mean. Sometimes, with Luke, she wonders. It seems like his brain is in his guitar 24/7.

Or… like… his guitar is in him.

In his soul.

He can probably feel it, no matter where he goes, no matter what he’s doing… like he’s never alone.

Julie’s laughter cuts off abruptly.

“You know,” she says after a long minute. “Now that I think of it —“

“Uh huh,” says Flynn.

“It’s kind of… weird having them around. Not weird in a spooky way, or in a ‘oh my gosh, they’re teenage guys’ way…” Her brows furrow, searching for the right words to crystallize what she’s not even certain of herself. “They’re just always  _ there _ .”

It didn’t start out that way. In the early weeks, when the boys were strange and she didn’t know them as well — they were just three ghost dudes living in her Mom’s studio. Back then, Julie didn’t feel their absence at all. She couldn’t feel _them._ That connection bloomed slowly, like a flower being coaxed to life with shared moments, inside jokes and electrifying performances… when she really thinks about it, Julie can't pinpoint when the guys took up residence in her heart rent free. Now that they’re there, though, it’s like the most natural thing in the world.

Just like she's their Person, at some point, they became her Ghosts. 

Somehow, they’re always with her. She always expects them to be there… can always  _ feel _ them, even when they’re not nearby.

When she’s alone in her room — she knows they’re close, knows they're safe. When she goes to sleep, there’s a heavy, content feeling in her chest, like three dead hearts beating in time with her own. When she’s at school, at home,  _ anywhere _ —

It’s security. Certainty. Like she  _ knows,  _ if she walks out of the house and into the studio, they’ll be there waiting for her.

She’s never thought about it before. Now that she’s realized it, Julie feels  _ different _ — as if every hair along her arms have stood up at once, like she’s in the middle of an electric current, feeling it’s humm around her.

“So what are you saying?” she says tentatively, looking up at Flynn. “The boys are, like… attached to my soul?”

Flynn gives a snort, shaking her head. It’s typical Flynn speak for “hell if I know” — her best friend isn’t omnipotent, though she’ll never admit that fact out loud. After a minute, Flynn sighs, reaching over to lay a hand atop Julie’s own. “All I can say is… ever since they showed up, you’ve been different, Jules. In the  _ best _ way. The longer they’re around, the brighter you shine.” She pauses, before her brows and nose scrunch up at once. “Usually it goes the opposite way with ghosts, huh? All gloomy and doomy.”

“They said it themselves. They’re weird ghosts.” Julie has to fight off a smile, ignoring how warm she suddenly feels. 

They’re weird, but they’re hers… and that give-and-take might go further than she realized.

* * *

She doesn’t get the chance to think any more about it, because suddenly they’re out of time. All at once, everything falls apart. The boys are in pain, their souls are being held captive, and if they don’t cross over — don’t  _ leave her _ — they’ll be snuffed out of existence completely.

Just like that, it’s over. It’s done.

Julie feels so stupid for letting herself believe it could last.

She should know better. If there’s anything she knows, inside out, cover to cover, it’s loss. Nothing’s permanent; everyone has to leave eventually, even if they’re already dead. All the people you care about most — the  _ best _ people — go.

At least, she thinks, she’ll feel them when they leave. 

That makes it even worse when she’s standing in the Orpheum’s dressing room fifteen minutes before the show of their lives, staring at her own reflection… and realizes she’s completely alone

There's an empty, hollow place in her chest where they’re supposed to be. Like three candles burning inside her snuffed themselves out without her noticing. Like she looked away for a second, and the boys just _vanished,_ without even a goodbye. ( _ They didn’t get to say goodbye, they didn’t get to say goodbye _ —)

“Something’s wrong,” she tells Flynn, because that’s the only thing she knows for sure. The boys wouldn’t leave her hanging again. They wouldn’t leave her at all, unless they had no choice. This gig means the world to them, to all of them, and she —

Julie —

They mean the world to her, too.

The thought that they’re just _gone,_ snuffed out of existence without a whimper, leaves her numb and sick in ways words can’t express. “I didn’t even get to say goodbye,” she murmurs, suppressing the tremble in her voice though it burns like acid through her entire chest.

Flynn crosses the couch to hold her. Julie leans into the embrace, seeking comfort and familiarity; all she finds is absence. Flynn is amazing... but she doesn’t hug the way her mom used to. She doesn’t smell like honeyblossom and coconut, doesn’t hug with all her strength or whisper soft Spanish comfort into her ear… and she isn’t the guys, with their smiles and enthusiasm and constant encouragement.

Julie can’t feel any of them, and that hurts most of all.

_ ( Mom Carrie Alex Reggie Luke — they all leave everyone leaves they're always going to leave me — ) _

The stage manager raps on the door, each knock resounding like thunder in her pounding head. Something inside her breaks. The tears come all at once, like a wave sweeping her away. There’s no way she can do this — not tonight.  _ Not alone.  _ Julie takes off running before anyone can stop her. She doesn’t stop until she escapes the footsteps echoing behind her, and finds herself alone in a dark alleyway.

_T_ _otally alone_ — finally.

Her heart feels like it’s been hollowed out and fit back into her chest, empty as a shell, fragile as porcelain. One sob, and she won’t be able to stop; one breath too deep, and she’ll shatter. Julie forces herself to breathe, because it’s all she can do… and when she finds herself looking at the sky, she remembers something her Mom told her, a long time ago.

(Not that long. A couple of weeks before she died, maybe… but the weeks all blurred back then, and days felt like years, and the year since has felt like a lifetime.)

_ People don’t ever really leave, Julie. I’ll always be listening to you, even if I’m not there. _

She knows her mother isn’t here with her now — can feel the emptiness, feel the aching — but Julie can’t help it as the words spill from her mouth.

“I don’t know if you can hear me, Mom, but…” She feels stupid as she says the words, speaking out loud to empty air. She feels small. She feels alone.

(“I don’t know how to do this without you,” she whispered once, holding tight to her mother’s bone-thin hand. Deep in an exhausted sleep, her mother didn’t answer. She didn’t even hear.)

“... and I’m so sorry.”

(All the days she couldn’t take it — living with the knowledge that her mother was sick, but staying out of the house more and more. Sleeping over at Flynn’s, staying late at school to study or practice… the days when it was just too much to bear, and she should have been there for her mom, should have treasured every moment, but  _ didn’t… _ because deep down, despite knowing they were on borrowed time, she couldn’t imagine a world where her mother wasn’t there.

Her mom was a certainty. She was a constant. Until she wasn’t.)

“They were my friends… my band… my family.”

(And she never realized how good that safe feeling felt, how much she  _ missed it… _ until the band. It wasn't a big moment, just a quiet afternoon going over songs together. Reggie was draped over the couch, humming an absent melody; Alex swung his legs from his perch in the loft, shouting suggestions down to them; and Luke, right there at Julie’s shoulder, so close she could almost feel him. They burned so brightly in her chest, like a row of lightbulbs blazing… and Julie savored that warmth with the hunger of someone who’d forgotten what it tasted like.

She hadn’t felt sure of anything since her mom, until they boys came along.

If that’s what  _ being haunted _ meant, Julie never wanted to go back.)

Now… the boys are gone, and her mom is gone, and Julie is alone again. Alone, in ways that go far beyond standing in an empty alleyway, or in the middle of a giant stage.

“I just… wish that you were here,” she manages, and those are the words that break her.

Tears burn her throat, sting her eyes, nearly bending her double. Grief is… overwhelming, even now. Julie’s learned to bear it, learned to stand through the pain even when it’s heavy enough to snap her in two, but… the emptiness inside of her hurts more and more with every second. The absence of her mother’s arms is so painful, she can almost feel them.

Almost… feel them?

Julie’s eyes flutter open. On instinct, she turns… and an unfamiliar face, gentle eyes, and the bright petals of a dahlia are there to greet her. A gasp catches in her throat. She accepts the flower with shaking hands. As the older lady pats her shoulder with all the kindness of a stranger, Julie manages not to weep.

_ How can you listen if you’re not with me?  _ she remembers asking, sometime in those last awful weeks.  _ How can I talk to you if you’re not here? _

_ I’ll always be with you, Julie. Even when you can’t see me… can’t feel me… I’ll be right there. _

Julie hugs her mother’s favorite flower close to her chest. Slowly, slowly, the pain goes dull.

Somehow, she doesn’t feel alone anymore.

When she steps onto the Orpheum stage, she isn’t alone.

They may not be able to be with her tonight, but as Julie’s hands find her first keys, she imagines they’re standing right there with her. She can’t see them… can’t feel them… but she knows, with the same certainty that her Dad, Carlos, and Tia are watching from the crowd, her Mom is watching too. Her boys. Her band. Her family.

_ They're right here with me. _

And it’s not something she does consciously. She doesn’t mean for it to happen — doesn’t know it  _ is _ happening,  _ really _ , even as the song swells and her voice rises, and the fire in her chest burns brighter and brighter. All of her heart goes into the song… and Julie feels whole again in a way she can’t explain. She feels strong. She feels safe. She feels…

Sure.

And there’s something stretched tight in her chest, like a rubber band about to snap; Julie finds herself pulling on it without meaning to, tugging the chords like she’s trying to draw all the strength into her body. The music swells, and something in her knows, I’m not alone, and her heart sings, they’re with me, and a tug in her chest says  _ Alex _ —

And then he’s here, the fearless rhythm of his drums picking up right next to her.

Julie nearly falters. Her relief is overwhelming, sweeping over her like a wave — and it must show in her face, because Alex meets her eyes and nods, like this is how it was meant to happen all along. She doesn’t know  _ how _ it’s happening, but he’s here — he’s with her, and she’s strong...

With that realization in mind, Julie seizes hold of one of the other tugging sensations in her chest, and pulls.

Reggie flares to life beside her. His grin is broad and impossibly proud. _I knew you could do it,_ he seems to say. _You’ve done it all along._

Luke is the hardest. She pulls, and something pulls back, and it’s like a tug of war with too much at stake. Her voice pitches high; her heart seizes up. Maybe he’s the one who comes to her in the end — or maybe Julie’s just strong enough to pull him there on her own — because he blazes to life in color and vibrance, and his presence is the strongest of all.

She’s never been happier to be haunted than that moment, standing on stage with her band beside her. 

She’s never felt less alone.

* * *

After all the events of that night, as it cartwheels and spirals and nearly breaks her heart all over again, before building it back stronger than ever… Julie does what any girl in her position would do.

She texts her best friend.

**Julie (12:34 a.m.):** unfortunately i must confirm  
you were right

**Flynn (12:34 a.m.):** Shocked you ever doubted it   
What was I right about this time?

**Julie (12:35 a.m.):** the guys are definitely attached to my soul   
also? we can touch now?? Wild

Flynn’s response nearly blinds Julie with key smashing and emojis. She wouldn’t expect anything less.

* * *

Of course, now that the whole “literally being haunted by my dead bandmates” thing has been confirmed, Julie’s curious. Who wouldn’t be, when they realize they’ve got a power they never had before?

And it’s almost like a superpower, a little bit. The more Julie pays attention, the better she’s able to control it. It’s not just a surety anymore, but a kind of intuition; she knows while she's walking down the steps to the garage exactly who will be waiting there, because she can feel them. When Alex is out with his friend Willie, one of the lightbulbs in her chest burns dimly; she can still feel it’s heat, still see it’s glow, but it’s not in-her-face bright. She learns to tell the difference between the feelings the boys give her… learns to pull on different strings at different times, just like she did on the stage that night.

It’s harder when her emotions aren’t at a fever pitch, and lives aren’t literally on the line… but Julie gets the hang of it eventually.

“Hey, uhh —“ Reggie pops in while she’s studying at the dining room table one day. “Did you need something?”

Julie can’t keep the grin off her face. “Why?”

“I dunno. It felt like you needed something.” He shrugs, glancing around, like he’s not sure exactly what impulse drove him into the house in the first place. “Were you, like, _looking_ for me, or — didja just miss me?”

“Reggie, I miss you whenever you’re not around,” she replies, eyes sparkling, and Reggie’s grin lights up the room. It’s never hard to distract him — just spin him around once and point him in the opposite direction, and he’ll forget where he was going to begin with — but he also picks up on things easily while asking the least questions. Which is why Julie chose him for this job, specifically. “But actually… yeah. I did kind of need something.”

“Ah-ha! I knew my Julie Instincts weren’t wrong!” Reggie slaps his hands together and points at her, before leaning over the table. “What do you need?” he asks, drumming on her history textbook.

Julie sets her pen down and regards him for a moment. There’s a better way to pitch this, but it’s escaping her right now. Instead, she says, “Are you up for trying something weird?”

“Always,” answers Reggie without hesitation.

Her grin is warm, and a little relieved.

“Okay. Go out to the studio and… try to summon me. Like you would your bass.”

It takes a lot to actually take Reggie by surprise — reason number three why she chose him for the job — but this one actually scores. He blinks once, twice, scrunches his nose, then clears his throat.

“Uhh… I  _ would _ do that, but Julie, if you landed on me you might actually snap my spine like a breadstick —“

“I’m not going to land on you!” Julie exclaims… before hesitating. “At least. I think?” Reggie’s still staring at her like he’s worried, so she huffs, blowing a stray curl out of her face. “I want to try something. Remember the Orpheum?”

“Uhh, yeah, it’d be hard to forget —“ It takes Reggie a minute to parse what she means; when his expression clears, mouth forming a tiny ‘o’, she knows she’s got him.

“Yeah,” he says, finally. “Okay! Let’s give it a shot.”

“Just to see what happens!” Julie declares. Her enthusiasm is infectious; Reggie grins, and flashes her a thumbs up.

“I’ll give it my best,” he says, before poofing out.

It’s quiet after that. She’s alone, except not really — in the way she’s never alone these days. She’s alone  _ enough _ . Julie holds her breath, before realizing that’s not the best thing to do. She tries to focus on _feeling something…_ but that’s the best way to make yourself _believe_ you’re feeling something. Instead, she tries to not feel anything at all. Except that’s no good either, because then she might _miss it_ —

Her phone buzzes, distracting her completely. She sees Flynn’s name on the screen, above a complaint about the math homework tonight.

_ That’s _ when Julie feels it.

She doesn’t poof out of existence, which is definitely for the best. She does follow the tug in her chest — almost the exact same place where she focuses on the boys — out of the house, down the walk, and to the studio.

The moment she steps inside, the feeling vanishes. She’s right where she’s supposed to be.

Reggie beams when he sees her, and turns to the other guys with a dramatic flourish. “Presto… Julie!”

No applause comes. Luke and Alex just blink at the two of them, somewhere between baffles and unimpressed. “You timed that,” Alex says. 

Julie just shakes her head.

“I summoned her,” declares Reggie, with great importance. “We can do that now!”

“Uhh, yeah, Julie could do that before.” Silence follows Luke’s words; he glances around, baffled. “You’re telling me you guys never noticed? When she needs us, we feel it. I  _ always _ feel it, guys, come on.”

Alex shrugs, the picture of innocence. “I dunno, Luke. Maybe you just  _ feel her _ more often than we do.”

Now Julie’s face is as warm as her soul, for a completely different reason. “Yup, okay, wow! Great job, Reggie!” Her high five is returned with spirit; she’s never been more grateful for Reggie’s natural enthusiasm. “Good to know the connection goes both ways!”

Luke — who isn’t embarrassed by anything at all, of course — grins up at her. “I gotta learn how to do that, too. Any time I need your advice on a song, or miss you too much —“

“No abusing the soul telephone system,” Julie declares. Alex clicks his tongue in agreement.

It doesn’t end up changing anything much — after all, it’s nothing new. Their connection has been there all along, even if they didn’t pay much attention to it at first. Being haunted isn’t so different from regular life, Julie quickly realizes… except the ghosts become family, and family is always a part of you.

Haunting is a funny thing. Some ghosts are tied to places. They can’t leave — they’re drawn back there time and time again, like a tree forever rooted to the same spot. Some ghosts are tied to things, and held captive by memories — even as the world changes around them, their soul is stuck on a piece of the past.  Some ghosts are tied to people… and the thing about people is, they never stay in one place for long. They’re always changing, always in motion.

If you decide to be a ghost, haunting a person is the way to go.

And if you end up haunted, it’s not the worst thing in the world.

The next time she feels a burst of that loneliness — the kind that surprises her, bone deep and heavy with memory — she only has time to curl up by her bedroom window before she hears a noise over her shoulder. Three identical lightbulbs flare to life inside her chest.

“Julie?” Luke says softly. Julie smiles.

When she turns, her boys are there beside her.

**Author's Note:**

> i've seen the concept played with in other fics that julie's... connected to the guys somehow, like she can call out to them when she needs them and they'll hear her, or... i don't know, it's been played a lot of different ways, but i absolutely LOVE the idea. 'stand tall' seems to support this theory the best. (in my fic [Nothing Quite Like Living On The Edge](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29517375) i write that whole scene from the boys' perspective, so now it's julie's turn!)
> 
> this was supposed to be a lighthearted piece, got really intense, and swiveled right back to goofy again. hope y'all survive that whiplash!
> 
> Find me on tumblr at [reggieshairflip](https://reggieshairflip.tumblr.com/)!


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